Tour2ma Posted January 13, 2017 Report Share Posted January 13, 2017 PFF was a punching bag for some through the season for labeling our OL as "elite". If that was ever their view, then it's not now. An article in DPD provides nice summary and a couple excerpts. I see a pretty fair assessment by both. Major points include: personnel turnover (Mack and Schwartz replced); scheme change (ZBS to Power); QB carousel; the mixed-results Paz experiment; and last, but not least, the failed Cam experiment. From the PFF report: The issue on this line was Cameron Erving, the former first-round pick, playing center in his second season, having struggled massively at guard and tackle as a rookie. He was little, if any, better in the middle, surrendering 30 total QB pressures and being routinely abused as a run blocker. It’s difficult to see much of a future for Erving at this point, and his position is one in need of upgrade. DPD added: Erving is another story. He struggled with basic skills like snaps, initial positioning and holding the pocket at the line of scrimmage. He was unable to overcome these difficulties as the season wore on. In addition, he also struggled with the mental aspects of the game, such as calling protections and changing blocking schemes. The quarterbacks took over these responsibilities, which further exacerbated the issue when those quarterbacks got hurt. The underlined confirmed my and others' suspicions. To the probable consternation of the Pocic/Elflein posse the article closes agreeing with my assessment that adding a Day 2 pick to the Reiter-Fabiano mix is the route to address our top, OL need. Moving forward the Browns need to identify a center, which maybe on the roster with Austin Reiter or Anthony Fabiano. Regardless, the Browns need to draft a natural center in the draft between the third and fifth rounds. Unlike the beginning of the season, Pro Football Focus correctly identified the strengths and weaknesses of the Browns offensive line in their post-season analysis. Further, the Browns troubles as an offensive line would be greatly helped by drafting a quarterback who can adequately play within the pocket. http://dawgpounddaily.com/2017/01/12/cleveland-browns-offensive-line-4/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Gipper Posted January 13, 2017 Report Share Posted January 13, 2017 Boy, howdy. Yep, a real center and a real QB would help this team a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudfly Posted January 13, 2017 Report Share Posted January 13, 2017 What I find strange is that the O line was our hardest hit player group and the one that took the most heat.....certainly had the most injuries and players being moved around(playing different positions each week, etc).....also had several rookie types thrust into starting.....and, even with all that inexperience and turmoil, they actual improved and were doing better by the end of the year.....and of ALL the position groups, Id say the O line grew and showed the most measurable improvement throughout this season, while being the hardest hit .....By the end of the season, many of us were actually accepting of their play(it was not great, but definitely better...) Now....with that said.....it was the OL coach who just got canned.....not the QB, WR or ST coaches(whose groups way under performed) I know Al Saunders is supposed to be god or something like that.....if you read the blurbs, he's the best WR coach in the universe....but, he got 4 new WR's and a budding star.....and none of them got better as the season wore on.....all disappointments, basically He'll probably get a raise...... To me....just another example of the Browns doing the opposite of sensible.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasAg1969 Posted January 14, 2017 Report Share Posted January 14, 2017 To me....just another example of the Browns doing the opposite of sensible.... George Costanza is their most recent hire, right? Things are looking better! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orion Posted January 14, 2017 Report Share Posted January 14, 2017 Man, our OL ended up being ranked 16th. Dead center. Mediocre. Average. OL's 17-32 must be pretty freakin' horrible! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaconHound Posted January 14, 2017 Report Share Posted January 14, 2017 I still think PFF is a sabremetricians wet dream but is not an indication of OL effectiveness. If the OL breaks down at one position causing the offense to suffer it isn't successful. The beginning rationalizations, while all true, do nothing other than excuse poor line play. I guess Josh Maccown's poor performance was due to WRs who can't get separation, an OLine that didn't pass protect very well at times, the coaching staff abandoning the run game, it's cold in Cleveland, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tour2ma Posted January 14, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2017 I still think PFF is a sabremetricians wet dream but is not an indication of OL effectiveness. If the OL breaks down at one position causing the offense to suffer it isn't successful. The beginning rationalizations, while all true, do nothing other than excuse poor line play. I guess Josh Maccown's poor performance was due to WRs who can't get separation, an OLine that didn't pass protect very well at times, the coaching staff abandoning the run game, it's cold in Cleveland, etc. Semi-agree... There is a coordinated effort factor that is on the coach. What grading I have done showed players releasing from double teams to the 2nd level way before the defender was controlled well enough to be releasing. Granted that more often than not it was Cam doing this after barely a "chip, but others did it as well. Mark Schlereth did an interesting segment on NFL Live yesterday about one of the match-ups this weekend where an OL rarely released the entire game. They stayed on their double-teams and the effect was amazing. Essentially instead of releasing to the LB level, the double team simply "blocked" the LBs' vision and made them guess which side the RB was taking. Even if they guessed correctly, the RB had a head of steam and got on the LB before he'd set himself to make the tackle. Plus the double drove the DL deeper into the LBs' laps so first contact was at least three-yards upfield. Can't quite remember which team was doing this, but it was an amazingly effective approach... also can't remember seeing it before. What I find strange is that the O line was our hardest hit player group and the one that took the most heat.....certainly had the most injuries and players being moved around(playing different positions each week, etc).....also had several rookie types thrust into starting.....and, even with all that inexperience and turmoil, they actual improved and were doing better by the end of the year.....and of ALL the position groups, Id say the O line grew and showed the most measurable improvement throughout this season, while being the hardest hit .....By the end of the season, many of us were actually accepting of their play(it was not great, but definitely better...) I hear you... without the injuries along our OL, who knows what would have transpired. We were at our highest level early and clawed our way back to near that level late. WR-wise... the QB carousel certainly did not help either when it came to game performance. But a look at their one, truly independent act, downfield blocking, would seem to confirm that the corps could have been coached up more. Only acceptable-ish efforts in this area that spring to mind are Hawk's and Coleman's. Pryor, for all his size and "athleticism", sucked... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoyceRolls Posted January 15, 2017 Report Share Posted January 15, 2017 Man, our OL ended up being ranked 16th. Dead center. Mediocre. Average. OL's 17-32 must be pretty freakin' horrible! They are, the o-line play in the NFL has been down league wide this year, at least that's what I'm hearing in the media. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoorta Posted January 15, 2017 Report Share Posted January 15, 2017 From the PFF report: The issue on this line was Cameron Erving, the former first-round pick, playing center in his second season, having struggled massively at guard and tackle as a rookie. He was little, if any, better in the middle, surrendering 30 total QB pressures and being routinely abused as a run blocker. It’s difficult to see much of a future for Erving at this point, and his position is one in need of upgrade. DPD added: Erving is another story. He struggled with basic skills like snaps, initial positioning and holding the pocket at the line of scrimmage. He was unable to overcome these difficulties as the season wore on. In addition, he also struggled with the mental aspects of the game, such as calling protections and changing blocking schemes. The quarterbacks took over these responsibilities, which further exacerbated the issue when those quarterbacks got hurt. The underlined confirmed my and others' suspicions. To the probable consternation of the Pocic/Elflein posse the article closes agreeing with my assessment that adding a Day 2 pick to the Reiter-Fabiano mix is the route to address our top, OL need. Moving forward the Browns need to identify a center, which maybe on the roster with Austin Reiter or Anthony Fabiano. Regardless, the Browns need to draft a natural center in the draft between the third and fifth rounds. Unlike the beginning of the season, Pro Football Focus correctly identified the strengths and weaknesses of the Browns offensive line in their post-season analysis. Further, the Browns troubles as an offensive line would be greatly helped by drafting a quarterback who can adequately play within the pocket. http://dawgpounddaily.com/2017/01/12/cleveland-browns-offensive-line-4/ Tour- I kept 1\2 an eye on Mack during the Atlanta game. Too bad he didn't want to stick around. Can't say if he never missed a block the whole game, but the guy can also get to the second level to take on a LBer. No comparison to the Cam follies. I won't be too upset if the Browns have other players rated higher than Pocic and Elflin. Walter football has us taking Tyler Olorosky from West Virginia at the top of the third. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.